Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording medium including an ink-receiving layer, in particular, a recording medium in which a reverse image (mirror image) is recorded on an ink-receiving layer, and to a method of manufacturing the recording medium. In addition, the present invention relates to a recorded matter including a recording medium and an image support, the image support supporting an original image (normal image), and to a method of manufacturing the recorded matter.
Description of the Related Art
Various thermal transfer recording methods have heretofore been known. Of those, the following thermal transfer method is generally used (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-238791). An image is formed by heating a thermal transfer sheet, the sheet having formed on its base material sheet a colored transfer layer, from its back surface with a thermal head or the like according to the shape of the image to thermally transfer the colored transfer layer onto the surface of a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet. The thermal transfer method has been expanding its market as a full-color hard copy system for digital images typified by computer graphics, still images provided by satellite communications, CD-ROMs, and the like, and analog images such as a video because of the development of various kinds of hardware and software related to multimedia.
When recorded matters are obtained by forming images on any of various objects such as paper, a resin product, and a metal, the images have heretofore been formed on the objects by thermal transfer systems. The thermal transfer systems are roughly classified into a sublimation transfer type and a thermal fusion transfer type depending on the construction of the colored transfer layer. Each of both systems can form a full-color image, and involves: preparing thermal transfer sheets for three to four colors such as yellow, magenta, and cyan colors, and as required, a black color; and superimposing and thermally transferring respective color images onto the surface of the same thermal transfer image-receiving sheet to form the full-color image.
For example, the following recorded-matter-manufacturing-method has been proposed as a recorded-matter-manufacturing-method of manufacturing a recorded matter involving employing a thermal fusion transfer-type thermal transfer system (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-238439). A recording medium in which a receiving layer is provided on a base material in a releasable manner, and a thermal transfer sheet having a dye layer are used, an image is formed by transferring the dye of the dye layer onto the receiving layer on the base material, and then the recorded matter is manufactured by heating the recording medium to transfer the receiving layer onto an object.
A recorded-matter-manufacturing-method involving forming an image with a sublimation-transfer-type thermal transfer sheet has also been proposed (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-211761).
The sublimation-transfer-type thermal transfer sheet enables precise formation of a gray-scale image such as a face photograph. On the other hand, the image has the following inconvenience unlike an image formed by using an ordinary recording ink. The image is deficient in durability such as weatherability, abrasion resistance, or chemical resistance. The following has been performed as a solution to the inconvenience (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-44130). A protective layer thermal transfer film having a thermally transferable resin layer is superimposed on a thermal transfer image, and the thermally transferable resin layer having transparency is transferred by a thermal head, a heating roll, or the like to form a protective layer on the image.
A technology involving printing an image on the receiving layer of a recording medium by an inkjet system, superimposing the recording medium and a transfer member, and heating the resultant to transfer the image has also been proposed (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-188865).
However, such printing method as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-44130 has involved a major problem in terms of productivity because of the following reason. An image transfer region is provided on a thermal transfer film for each color in the order “black→cyan→magenta→yellow→transparent protective layer,” and the image is formed by sequentially transferring the respective colors while sequentially repeating the forward and backward movements of the transfer member, and hence the productivity of the image is hard to improve. In addition, a major problem in terms of information security has been left in the thermal transfer recording method. Specifically, recorded information remains as a negative on the thermal transfer film and hence special consideration is needed for the disposal of the thermal transfer film after its use. Further, such method has involved a major problem in terms of economical efficiency because a thermal transfer film corresponding to the entirety of a recording surface is needed irrespective of an image and the ratio of a recording cost related to a non-recording portion is large.
In addition, the technology described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-188865 has no specific description concerning a recording medium. Accordingly, it has been unable to manufacture a recording medium suitable for the technology in which the inkjet system is employed, the recording medium and the transfer member are superimposed, and the image is transferred by heating the resultant.